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I think you first need to figure out which benefits matter to you and which don't. Someone who needs hotels at the last minute in booked-up places may feel very differently than someone who never does.

Second, you need to figure out what the alternatives are for you. In other words, if focusing only on Marriott Gold as opposed to Marriott Platinum would allow you to get higher status in another hotel program, the question is not whether Marriott Platinum is worht it as much as whether the difference between Marriott Gold and Marriott Platinum for your needs is bigger or smaller than the difference between whatever status level you're getting elsewhere vs whatever status level you could get elsewhere with 25 more nights.

Finally, are you getting your Marriott nights the easiest way? If you're based in the US, by holding a "negative net annual fee" credit card you could have a "head start" of 15 nights:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...mier-visa.html

That doesn't change the absolute difference between Marriott Gold and Platinum (it's still a 25-night difference), but it does magnifiy it (it changes it from being 50 vs 75 nights to 35 vs 60 nights; ie, it makes a much bigger percentage dent in Gold than in Platinum.